1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a children""s home ball play pen and method of building the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objectives of the Invention
Play pens filled with balls have provided safe, fun entertainment for children for some years with particular prevalence in the fast food industry where such restaurants have ball pens incorporated into a larger playground area. Commercial ball pens are well suited for their purpose, but are impractical for home use due to size and cost. Several home units have been proposed, but these fail to replicate the look, use, and feel of the larger commercial units.
With the above concerns in mind, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a ball pen which is well suited for use in the home and other establishments where conventional commercial units are impractical.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a ball pen which is economical to produce.
It is yet a further objective of the present invention to provide a ball pen which is relatively light weight.
It is still a further objective of the present invention to provide a ball pen which is easy to assemble.
It is another objective to provide a method of assembling a ball pen which can be performed by a layperson.
These and other objectives and advantages will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawing figures.
The aforesaid objectives and advantages are realized by a ball pen comprising a preferably hexagonal corrugated high density polyethylene (HDPE) floor which is rigidly affixed to two sidewall panels through sonic welding, glueing, riveting or the like to form a ball tub or receptacle. Other suitable plastics and corrugated paper board may also be used as well as alternative geometric shapes. Each sidewall panel is likewise corrugated HDPE which has been cut and scored to fold into three sides of the hexagon with a flap extending under and attached to the floor. A bottom anchor is sandwiched between the flap and the floor at each corner of the hexagon. Each bottom anchor comprises a dome shaped knob and three surrounding clasps rising upwardly from a planar base. When the floor is welded to the flaps of the sidewall panels, the bottom anchors become rigidly positioned therebetween. The tops of the sidewall panels are folded over a metal rod which having a ring attached at each corner of the hexagon. A planar layer of polyethylene or other polymeric foam at least 0.25 inch (0.64 cm) thick is placed on the floor of the ball receptacle. Both the floor and the foam define a plurality of apertures to allow fluids to drain from the receptacle. Closed cell, polyethylene or other polymeric foam fits over the sidewall flaps folded over the metal rod. The foam is held in place by a plurality of standard plastic cable ties.
Extending upwardly from the bottom anchors and passing through the corresponding rings are six cylindrical vertical 0.75 inch (1.9 cm) outer diameter polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or other type posts. Each post is also surrounded by the closed cell foam and held in place by standard plastic cable ties. Three way connectors fit on the top of each vertical post and are joined by horizontal PVC or other type posts thereby forming a hexagonal top frame. Nets extend between the vertical posts and across the top to keep balls which are stored in the ball pen from escaping as children play therein. The horizontal top frame posts are covered with polymeric foam, which is held in place by standard plastic cable ties.